Category: Social Media

Heads-up: NITDA alerts Nigerians on new Whatsapp terms of service

Umar Suleiman
Heads-up: NITDA alerts Nigerians on new Whatsapp terms of service

Heads-up: NITDA alerts Nigerians on new Whatsapp terms of service The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has advised Nigerians on how to avoid being victims of digital colonialism. This advice was contained is a statement on Monday titled ‘Whattassp privacy policy changes: Implication for Nigerian users’ signed by the Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NIDTA, Mrs Hadiza Umar. The statement read, “The National Information Technology Development Agency under Section 6 (f) of the NITDA Act 2007 wishes to provide this advisory to Nigerians to address Nigerian…

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Telegram raises fresh $1bn for expansion, monetization drive

Ugochi Emmanuel
Telegram raises fresh $1bn for expansion, monetization drive

Telegram raises fresh $1bn for expansion, monetisation drive     Telegram has raised over $1 billion through bond sales to multiple investors, the messaging app’s founder Pavel Durov said on Tuesday. The funding round included a combined $150 million investment by Mubadala Investment Co and Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, which is part-owned by the Abu Dhabi state fund. Although the company did not provide any details about its other investors, Durov said they included “some of the largest and most knowledgeable investors from all over the world.” The funds would…

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After 3 years of planning, Facebook finally launches Instagram Lite in 170 countries

David Alonge
Facebook finally launches Instagram Lite

Facebook launches Instagram Lite in 170 countries   After nearly three years in the planning, Facebook is taking the plunge today and officially launching Instagram Lite, a less data- and storage-intensive Android-only version of one of its popular photo and video app. The app will take up just 2MB on a phone and is going live in 170 countries, with a focus on emerging markets, today. Instagram Lite is launching with all the basic bells and whistles around editing, sharing and viewing photos and videos, as well as the ability…

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Zoom Founder, Eric Yuan, transfers stock worth over $6bn

Business Metrics
Zoom Founder Eric Yuan

Zoom Founder, Eric Yuan, transfers stock worth over $6bn Video-conferencing platform Zoom Video Communications Inc founder Eric Yuan transferred about 18 million shares worth over $6 billion last week, according to a regulatory filing. The transfers were related to Yuan’s estate planning practices, a Zoom spokesperson said. “The distributions were made in accordance with the terms of Eric Yuan and his wife’s trusts.” Yuan, who is also the chief executive officer of the company, transferred roughly 40 per cent of his stake in the company to unspecified beneficiaries, Zoom disclosed…

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Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey auctions first ever tweet, bidding at $2.5m

Ugochi Emmanuel
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey auctions first ever tweet, bidding at $2.5m   “just setting up my twttr” – the first ever tweet on the platform is up for sale after Twitter boss Jack Dorsey listed his famous post as a unique digital signature on a website for selling tweets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The post, sent from Dorsey’s account in March of 2006, received offers on Friday that went as high as $88,888.88 within minutes of the Twitter co-founder tweeting a link to the listing on ‘Valuables by Cent’ –…

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Google to resume accepting political ads but with strict policies

David Alonge
Google opens $25m GIC grant

Google resumes accepting political ads but with strict policies   Alphabet Inc’s Google will resume accepting political advertisements in the United States from Feb. 24, according to an email to advertisers seen by Reuters. Google paused such advertisements in January following the violence at US Capitol and in the run-up to the presidential inauguration. “We will continue to rigorously enforce our ads policies, which strictly prohibit demonstrably false information that could significantly undermine trust in elections or the democratic process,” a company spokeswoman said, confirming the move. Facebook Inc has paused political ads after…

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In retaliation, Facebook blocks Australians from sharing news

David Alonge
In retaliation, Facebook blocks Australians from sharing news

In retaliation, Facebook blocks Australians from sharing news     In a shocking act of retaliation Thursday, Facebook blocked Australians from sharing news, a milestone in the increasingly frantic jockeying between governments, media and powerful tech companies that one Australian minister called “an assault on a sovereign nation” and abuse of power. Australia’s government condemned the decision, which also prevented some government communications, including messages about emergency services, as well as some commercial pages. The digital platforms fear that what’s happening in Australia will become an expensive precedent that larger…

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Australian govt bent to make Google and Facebook pay for news

David Alonge
In retaliation, Facebook blocks Australians from sharing news

Australian govt to make Google and Facebook pay for news     Australia’s government said Google and Facebook Inc. are nearing agreements to pay domestic media companies for news, in a sign a regulatory standoff may be softening. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg held talks with Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg and Google counterpart Sundar Pichai over the weekend. “We’re very close to some very significant commercial deals,” Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting on Monday, according to a transcript sent by his office. “We have made great progress.” Alphabet Inc-owned…

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Twitter mulls adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet

David Alonge
Twitter mulls adding Bitcoin

Twitter mulls adding Bitcoin to its balance sheet   The Twitter chief financial officer (CFO) said that the company is working out options if they can pay salaries to their employees in Bitcoin (BTC) along with allocating part of their treasury to BTC. Corporates are coming to Bitcoin and things could escalate further after Tesla‘s recent entry. On Wednesday, February 10, Twitter CFO said that the company is considering adding BTC to its balance sheet. During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box, Twitter Inc CFO, Ned Segal talked about the…

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From 10th to 1st: How Telegram became the most downloaded App in the world

David Alonge
Telegram raises fresh $1bn for expansion, monetization drive

From 10th to 1st: How Telegram became the most downloaded App in the world   Sensor Tower has released its download numbers for January 2021, with Telegram leading the pack as it was the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide with more than 63 million installs. The latest download figure in the month which was about 4 times its downloads one year ago. India accounted for 24 per cent of Telegram downloads within the past month with more than 15 million installs. The second-highest number of Telegram downloads came from Indonesia…

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